Controlled synchronization between a group calendar and individual work calendars

Abstract

Controlled synchronization between one type of calendar and another type of calendar is provided. A family's calendar maintained and stored with a Web-based calendar service server is synchronized with a work calendar(s) of one (or more) of the family's members and vice versa. A user is allowed to define rules for synchronizing appointments between work and family calendars that, by default, automatically produce results consistent with user expectations. Calendar information is filtered based on the synchronization rules for controlling which appointments need to be synced. In an aspect, users can establish a rule to automatically synchronize new work appointments to the user's family calendar if the new work appointment falls outside of the user's normal working hours.

1 . A method for synchronizing a first calendar with a second calendar, wherein the first calendar is shared by a group of users and the second calendar is a work calendar of a user, the method comprising:
 obtaining appointments stored with the second calendar;   obtaining a set of conditions for a synchronization process of the second calendar;   identifying, from the obtained appointments, appointments that have been newly added, updated, or deleted;   filtering the identified appointments based on the set of conditions; and   updating the first calendar based on the result of filtering,   wherein the user is a member of the group of users.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein filtering the identified appointments includes:
 for each identified appointment:
 checking information associated with the identified appointment; 
 comparing the information with the set of conditions; and 
   if the information satisfies the set of conditions, marking the identified appointment to be synchronized.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein updating includes updating the first calendar with the appointments marked to be synchronized. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein if the appointments marked to be synchronized are newly added appointments to the second calendar, the appointments are added to the first calendar. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising: if the appointments marked to be synchronized are modified appointments in the second calendar,
 identifying appointments stored in the first calendar corresponding to the modified appointments, and   modifying the identified appointment in the first calendar.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising: if the appointments marked to be synchronized are deleted appointments from the second calendar,
 identifying an appointment stored in the first calendar that corresponds to the deleted appointment, and   deleting the identified appointment from the first calendar.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the set of conditions include a condition specifying work-hours for the user. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising if a start time or an end time of the identified appointment falls outside of the work-hours, marking the appointment to be synchronized. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the set of conditions include a condition specifying a manual synchronization. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein each user of the group is enable to enter appointments for the user to the first calendar via a network, the appointments being associated with the user's name. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein each user of the group is enable to enter appointments for the entire group to the first calendar via a network, the appointments being associated with the entire group. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein each user of the group is enable to enter appointments for one or more users to the first calendar via a network, the appointments being associated with names of the one or more users. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein deleting includes removing the user name from the appointment if the appointment is also associated with another user's name. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first calendar is a family calendar and the second calendar is a work calendar of the user. 
     
     
         15 . A method for synchronizing a first calendar with a second calendar, wherein the first calendar is a work calendar of a user and the second calendar is shared by a group of users, the method comprising:
 obtaining a user identification and a set of rules defined for the user in the second calendar;   obtaining appointments stored with the second calendar;   detecting changes in the obtained appointments;   upon detecting the changes, identifying appointments that are to be synchronized to the first calendar based on the set of rules; and   updating the first calendar with the identified appointments.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the set of rules include a rule indicating that an appointment associated with the user's name is to be synchronized to the first calendar. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the set of rules includes a rule indicating that an appointment associated with the group is to be synchronized to the second calendar. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein if the user's name is removed from the appointments, the appointment is treated as a deleted appointment for the second calendar of the user. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the user is enabled to mark an appointment as a private appointment so that after synchronization of the appointment, the content of the appointment is hidden from other users. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 upon detecting the changes, determining deleted appointments from the second calendar; and   for each deleted appointment, if the deleted appointment has been synchronized to the first calendar,
 identifying an appointment stored in the first calendar that corresponds to the deleted appointment; and 
 deleting the identified appointment from the first calendar. 
   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 upon detecting the changes, determining modified appointments from the second calendar; and   for each modified appointment, if the modified appointment has been synchronized to the first calendar of the user, updating an appointment stored in the first calendar that corresponds to the modified appointment.   
     
     
         22 . A system for synchronizing a first calendar with a second calendar, wherein the first calendar is a work calendar of a user and the second calendar is shared by a family of the user, the system comprising:
 a memory for storing user profile information and a set of synchronization rules defined for the user:   a synchronization engine operable to:
 obtain a user identification and the set of synchronization rules regarding the second calendar; 
 obtain work appointments stored with the second calendar; 
 detect changes in the obtained work appointments; 
 upon detecting the changes, identify work appointments that are to be synchronized to the first calendar based on the set of rules; and 
 update the first calendar with the identified work appointments. 
   
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein the synchronization engine is further operable to:
 upon detecting the changes, identify a deleted work appointment from the second calendar; and   if the deleted work appointment has been synchronized to the first calendar, delete a family appointment stored in the first calendar that corresponds to the deleted work appointment.   
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein the synchronization engine is further operable to:
 upon detecting the changes, identify a new work appointment from the second calendar; and   if a start time or an end time of the new work appointment falls outside of work-hours, add a family appointment that corresponds to the new work appointment to the first calendar.   
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein the work-hours were predefined in the user profile information. 
     
     
         26 . A system for synchronizing a first calendar with a second calendar, wherein the first calendar is shared by a group of users and the second calendar is a work calendar of a user, the system comprising:
 a memory for storing a set of rules specified for a synchronization process of the second calendar and information about the user;   a synchronization adaptor operable to:
 obtain the set of conditions from the memory; 
 identify, from the second calendar, work appointments that have been newly added, updated, or deleted; 
 filter the identified work appointments based on the set of conditions; and 
 update the first calendar based on the result of filtering. 
   
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein the synchronization adaptor is operable to:
 for each identified appointment:
 check tag information associated with the identified appointment; 
 compare the tag information with the set of conditions; and 
 if the tag information satisfies the set of conditions, mark the identified work appointment to be synchronized. 
   
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein the work appointments marked to be synchronized is incorporated into the first calendar. 
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein the set of conditions include a condition specifying work-hours for the user. 
     
     
         30 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein, if a start time or an end time of the identified appointment falls outside of the work-hours, the appointment is marked to be synchronized.